Chōshinsei no Naruto
by starja
Summary: What would happen if the academy was revamped just prior to the Rookie Nine years? And we all hear of Naruto being referred to as 'Konoha's Sun'. What if there was more to that than just the words?
1. Prologue - Chapter 1 - The Council

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, characters, plots, etc.**

**Prologue - ****Chapter 1** - Council Meeting

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, the Professor, the God of Shinobi, had once again been reduced to this. He sighed internally. _Politics._ His gaze drifted over to the current speaker in the council, a rather rotund merchant representative named Harushi Karimoto. Realising that he had been ignoring the man's words in favour of introspection – _again _– he focussed in on the man's undoubtedly long-winded speech…

"…and with the influx of commerce that this new venture will bring, I feel confident that…"

…and promptly tuned out again. By Kami, this was dull. It was almost bad enough to make him wish for another war. At least then the whole village council would only be called in cases of extreme emergency, otherwise the civilian council and the shinobi council would deal with their own issues, in the interest of efficiency. Come to think of it, why would it ever be kept together? His eyes slowly panned around the room. The civilian councillors, they looked bored. It wasn't impossible to be interested in what Harushi was discussing, but it was as close as anything could come to being so. The shinobi councillors were the usual for these kinds of meetings.

Shikaku Nara, head of the Nara clan and Jōnin commander of Konohagakure, was asleep as usual, his spiky ponytail rising into the air above him as he lightly snored with his forehead resting on his arms. His long-time allies and fellow clan heads Inoichi, of the Yamanaka clan, and Chōza, of the Akimichi clan, were sat either side of him, the latter slumped in his chair with a look of defeat etched across his face, while the former leant his chair back on two legs, feet propped up on the desk in front of him, clearly gazing into his own little world. To their right sat the Inuzuka clan head, Tsume; a legendarily impatient and impulsive woman, she was subtly demonstrating an impressive amount of self-control if the rage indicated by her grinding teeth, clenched fist and rapidly tapping leg was any indication. Knowing Tsume as well as he did, the Third was positive she would rather be doing battle with the civilian council than listening to them, if only because she'd be able to stretch her legs. Sat alongside her was Shibi Aburame, head of the Aburame clan, and a complete mystery. Sarutobi didn't know how he was feeling, though he also often wondered if the man knew himself. The last and likely most prominent clan head was Hiashi Hyūga, head of the Hyūga clan, the largest clan in Konoha. His impassive eyes gazed at, and potentially through Harushi, giving the distinct impression of listening to, but most certainly not caring about a topic so far beneath him.

Six of the most powerful shinobi in what was arguably the most powerful shinobi village in all of the Elemental Nations, were sat around a crescent-shaped table facing the civilian council. Six A-ranked shinobi, famous far and wide for their feats and their prestige, were sat in a large room debating the merits of various economic policies and actions. Debating being used in the most generous of senses, potentially observing the debate. Or possibly being in the vicinity of it. Knowing of it at the least.

There was a seventh seat at the shinobi table. At the opposite end to the Hyūga seat, there sat an empty chair, the tall back emblazoned with the crest of the Uchiha clan. Since the founding of the village the Uchiha had occupied a council seat and now, for the first time, the seat went unfilled. The recent Uchiha massacre had been preying on his mind now for a myriad of reasons, not least of them an overwhelming sense of guilt. He did not regret doing what needed to be done. Not for a second. He did however, regret the position it placed the late clan head Fugaku's two children in. One declared an S-rank missing-nin at the age of thirteen – _thirteen_ – and the other left orphaned, mentally tortured and, for want of a more accurate term, abandoned. Abandoned by his family for leaving him alone, and abandoned by his elder brother, whom he witnessed destroy his entire family.

Sarutobi continued to reminisce, not noticing that the civilian council had begun to filter out and the shinobi council had begun to wake up.

"Lord Hokage?"

At the founding of the village, an unprecedented problem arose. For the first time in history, the two dōjutsu clans were cooperating, though not without extreme suspicion. For the longest time, both clans had professed that their Kekkei Genkai was the superior of the two, in some cases, had gone so far as to circulate rumours concerning the origins of either dōjutsu in order to decrease demand for their competitor's services. This was all during the time of the clan wars of course, such defamation would not be accepted now amongst the clans of Konoha, and infighting amongst the leaves would only weaken the branches of the great tree.

"Lord Hokage!"

It had gotten so bad that upon the founding of the village, both the Hyūga and Uchiha had agreed to be seated directly opposite each other, entrusting to their fabled eyes the task of detecting the inevitable machinations and deceit of their rivals.

A tap on the shoulder distracted the Professor from his thoughts. He gazed up into the lazy expression of Shikaku expectantly.

"A word in your office Hokage-sama? I've been doing some thinking."

When a Nara thought, the world waited. When a Nara spoke those thoughts, the world listened, and usually obeyed. One must be extraordinarily stupid to disregard the advice of a Nara. As far back as the second shinobi world war, a Nara had held the position of the village's chief strategist. Indeed, whilst the first shinobi world war had been won largely on the back of the strength of Konoha's clans and various Kekkei Genkai, it had come at a great cost, namely the loss of both the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju and the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. It was a terrible blow, as they had been two of the most powerful shinobi to have ever graced the Elemental Nations, and a great personal tragedy to Hiruzen as well, to lose both of his senseis. The second shinobi world war was a great victory for Konoha, and a large part of that victory was attributed to the tactical genius of the Nara clan, who devised battle plans, contingency plans and emergency plans for every conceivable occasion, and for those events that were inconceivable, they were very good at thinking on the fly.

The fact that Shikaku had been active enough to actually gain his attention and get involved indicated he had been thinking hard about something, and it was significant enough to both keep his attention, and warrant the attention of the village leader. Sarutobi was _not_ extraordinarily stupid.


	2. Prologue - Chapter 2 - Discussions

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, characters, plots, etc.**

******Prologue - **Chapter 2 - Discussions

"I'm so very sorry Shikaku" the Sandaime said solemnly, "How are Inoichi and Chōza holding up?"

"Not very well Hokage-sama, losing any clan member is hard enough, but to lose a team with one of each of ours in it…" Shikaku trailed off, shaking his head slowly. He sighed. "The team was not ready Hokage-sama."

The Sandaime looked up sharply. "Shikaku, the team had completed the prerequisite number of missions, they had a Jōnin accompanying them, plus they had all exceeded at the academy."

Shikaku leaned forward in his seat, his elbow resting on his knee and his chin propped up in a cupped palm. "Sandaime-sama, the D-ranked mission prerequisite is meaningless, and the Jōnin was too busy to them out, but what I wanted to talk to you about was the academy. I think-"

"Shikaku, they were outnumbered _and_ facing a B-ranked missing-nin, I don't-"

"With all due respect Hokage-sama, they were outnumbered by bandits. I don't fault the Jōnin, he had no choice but to engage the missing-nin; a B-ranked missing-nin would make short work of most genin teams. Bandits however, they should not pose a threat to any ninja, genin or kage. On my first c-rank mission after the academy, my genin team defeated a camp of thirty bandits that had attacked the town we had been assigned to patrol. Our Jōnin sensei was there to step in if things got out of hand, but we were fine. Inoichi distracted, I bound, Chōza crushed. So why were three promising new genin, from the same background as the three of us, so easily dispatched by seven bandits. No, my mistake, ten bandits, there were seven left by the time the sensei returned. And Shikaru, Chopu and Inota had been killed. That is unacceptable Hokage-sama, they clearly were not ready!"

"Tell me what you would have done differently Shikaku? The situation was outside their control, it couldn't be helped" Sarutobi realised too late that that question was a foolish one to address to a Nara.

"The academy, Hokage-sama" Shikaku declared.

Sarutobi grazed at his Jōnin commander wearily, "what about the academy?"

"It has slumped Hokage-sama" Shikaku answered curtly, "standards have dropped severely in peacetime, as to be expected, but they have fallen too far."

He was interrupted by a knock at the door. The Sandaime's secretary poked her head around the door.

"Excuse me Hokage-sama, I was just delivering some files an aide has just delivered for Shikaku-san" the secretary said politely, placing the files upon Hiruzen's desk and departing the office once more.

The professor glanced at the files with dread. These days just the sight of the official documents terrified him, although that may have been the large red font printed on the front. MIA.

"These, Hokage-sama, are the files of all the genin that have been killed within two years of graduating the academy over the past ten years" Shikaku stated sadly.

He removed the majority of them and set them aside.

"These are over the past five years."

He palmed roughly a dozen files from the top of the pile.

"These are from the past three years. Over the past three years Hokage-sama, we have had two genin survive past two years. Our younger generation is being slaughtered Hokage-sama and with your permission, I'd like to do something about it."

"Do you think I don't know, Shikaku?" Sarutobi snapped at the clan head. "I am the one who informs every family of every loss. More than anyone else, barring the families, _I know._"

"Then why has nothing been done Hokage-sama?" Shikaku asked softly.

"Because I'm old Shikaku" Sarutobi replied softly. "It has always been done that way since the founding of the village, and for the first time in so long, the nations have a tangible grip on peace with one another, and I don't know where to go from there. We're warriors Shikaku, born and raised. I remember more battles that I'd care to and more kills than I dare to. And that's not accounting for the ones I don't doubt I've forgotten. One way or another, I've lost my wife, my predecessors, my successor, both my sons, my grandson, most of my friends and all three of my students. I'm old Shikaku, my will of fire is dimming; the mind I wish was willing, but it's struggling to remember why. And my body? My greatest battle, my deadliest foe, and the one I know I could never defeat is creeping up on me and sat here, in this room, day after day? I feel like I'm just waiting for him.

"I don't want a nation to end up like me: these children have such hope, such spirit… I let standards of combat training slide in the hopes that it would encourage peace in their heart, by delaying putting a blade in their hands, or at their throats. They are our future: I was just hoping our ways could be the past." Sarutobi sat back in his chair, looking weary and, for want of a better word, beaten. He swiveled in his chair to gaze out over the village.

"Hokage-sama…they are not going to see the future without our help. War is not something Konoha wants, but we can't just lie down. So long as there are people to be taken advantage of, people are going to take advantage of them. And we can't stop them forever; soon our children will have to. They _must _be ready."

After waiting for a moment for a reply and receiving none, Shikaku quietly dismissed himself from the office, leaving the wizened old leader to think.

* * *

"Gai, there's nothing I can do for him!" the Sandaime exclaimed. "The boy has a physical inability to perform ninjutsu or genjutsu, and by all accounts, shows absolutely no aptitude for taijutsu. I simply cannot condone allowing him to continue, he is not ready for shinobi life." The irony of him almost exactly mirroring Shikaku's statement was far from lost on the Hokage.

Gai began to protest, in the only way he knew. Loudly. "Hokage-sama, he has as much talent as I! When I was-"

"No Gai, you were raised by your father, an excellent man and the hardest worker I've ever met bar yourself. Lee doesn't have the advantage of someone teaching him-", again, Sarutobi was surprised realising he had as good as said the academy didn't teach well at all, "-and he had not even a tenth of your drive."

"What if he did?" Gai asked quietly.

"What if he did what?" the Sandaime asked, slightly puzzled by Gai's sudden change of mood.

"What if he _did _have those things? I know you have been struggling to fill the third spot on my team, from what I've seen and read there are only eight promising students in this year's crop."

"Two" the Hokage said quietly.

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama?"

"There are two promising students this year. Neji Hyūga is a prodigy in his own right: I haven't seen such a gifted use of the Byakugan since his father and uncle. And Tenten: I have _never _seen a weapons user so adaptable _and_ talented in Fūinjutsu as well! No, the official report declares eight to be ready to be genin, I see only two" the Sandaime declared with conviction.

'I should have seen this one coming' he thought bitterly. 'Argue with a Nara…'

"Then, why not?" Gai blurted out. "If you're already putting through six students who are unfit for it, why is one more any issue? And it's traditional for the Rookie of the Year and the Kunoichi of the Year to be paired with the dead-last, Hokage-sama."

"Because he hasn't shown that he wanted it Gai" Sarutobi stated simply. "He knows he has no talent, he professes that he wants to be a ninja, but the one branch of shinobi arts that he could become good at, he doesn't try to. No, with no conviction and no talent, he would not survive. I'm sorry Gai."

Gai opened his mouth as if to say something and then closed it again, his jaw tightening noticeably in restraint.

"If you have something to say Gai, say it. Kami knows I've been in this position long enough to be able to listen to what my trusted shinobi and advisors tell me", 'Damn it Shikaku'.

"What about Jiraiya-sama?" the green-clad Jōnin queried.

'Oh'. "What about him, Gai?" Sarutobi asked, knowing the answer, but wondering where Gai was going with this. Gai was rarely serious, but the man was one of the most capable Jōnin to ever come out of Konoha, and when the man was serious, you took him seriously.

"He was the dead-last. A fool. Talentless by all accounts" Gai shrugged. "You taught him, got him to change his lazy attitude and worked him hard, and now he is one of the only S-rank shinobi Konoha has! My father could perform _no _ninjutsu or genjutsu, and he fought the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist to a standoff, _alone_."

"It did cost him his life" Sarutobi pointed out quietly.

"No, Hokage-sama, it did not. The way you look at it, that fight cost him his life. The way I look at it, he gave his life to that fight, and he is the sole reason I am standing here now, in more ways than one.

Gai paused for a moment to let it sink in.

"Konoha is full of these stories Hokage-sama. Konoha has been built on the minds of its prodigies, but on the backs of its Jiraiyas, its Maito Dais and yes, on the back of its Lees. The boy may be talentless, but if I get through to him the way my father got through to me, and the way you got through to Jiraiya, he will be the greatest taijutsu specialist Konoha has ever soon. I swear it" Gai vowed, his face solemn and his voice strong.

Gai did not make vows lightly, Sarutobi knew. It added a great deal of credibility to what would have otherwise been, from anyone else, an utterly preposterous claim.

* * *

The god of shinobi sat with his back to his desk, staring into space. He had made a split-second decision. That was the sort of thing a teenager would do, not one of the oldest living shinobi. He smiled. The follies of youth. He had missed them.

The sun began to slowly descent behind the village, bathing the village in a beautiful hue of orange and pink. He has sent for Shikaku earlier and requested he come to his office at his earliest convenience. He knew Shikaku well, and he knew that not even a summons from his leader would be enough to make him leave the funeral.

It was one of the things that just made him love this village. Konoha was the only village that placed such a premium on teamwork and camaraderie.

A knock at his door distracted him from his thoughts. His secretary had long since gone home.

"Enter" he called.

Shikaku walked in, clad in his usual Jōnin attire, but in black. Sarutobi smiled inwardly. As lazy as Shikaku was, he was a ninja through and through, and as dedicated to his village as they come.

"You called for me Hokage-sama?" Shikaku drawled. It was hard to tell if it was a question or not, as usual from Shikaku. He had a unique way of asking a question whilst leaving you in absolutely no doubt that he knew the answer a lot more thoroughly than you did, even if the answer was only in your thoughts.

Sarutobi turned away from the window, breaking his gaze reluctantly from his favourite view. He has been thinking long and hard, after being forced into it by his treacherous subconscious. 'No matter the personal feelings, one really could be his own worst enemy, all without ever leaving the confines of his mind' he mused.

"I've been thinking Shikaku" he began slowly. "At first, I was thinking about those that had come before us, and of those who had recently passed away. Then, I had a rather interesting conversation with our resident taijutsu master. Gai is a rather odd man, but he has some fantastic opinions and views on life, don't you think?"

"I do, Hokage-sama" Shikaku replied. "What were you speaking to him about?"

"The future." The god of shinobi looked Shikaku dead in the eye, sending a shiver down Shikaku's spine. "Tell me your plan for the academy."


	3. Prologue - Chapter 3 - Teachers

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, characters, plots, etc.**

******Prologue – **Chapter 3 - Teachers

The Hokage gazed at the assembled ninja in front of him. He met each of their eyes, or indeed, eye, and saw nothing in them but confidence and loyalty. He smiled inwardly, he'd definitely chosen well.

"I have called you all here this afternoon to discuss an idea that Shikaku has proposed to me. You are all either one of the village's leading experts in your fields, or are significantly qualified and experienced otherwise, so I have assembled you here to form a…committee of some sorts. Shikaku?" Sarutobi leant back in his chair, and looked over to the Nara.

Shikaku stepped forward slightly, drawing the attention of the others in the room. "I want to implement a new curriculum in the academy, and I want your opinions. Each of you has been carefully picked by either Sandaime-sama or myself, and I'm sure I don't need to explain why. I am going to call on each of you in turn: I want you to speak for a few minutes on your opinion of the academy, what's good, what's bad, what's lacking…We'll go from there. Kakashi, you hold seniority, so you first."

A tall, laid-back and frankly quite lanky Jōnin in standard attire stepped forward, calmly placing a small orange book into the pouch on his hip. "Well Hokage-sama, my biggest qualm with the academy is the ninjutsu. We only teach the basic level ninjutsu, but there's so many more that could be very useful. By the time our genin graduation, they don't have a single combat jutsu given to them by the academy. This means there's a lot of wasted time, but, something that no-one else seems to have thought about, it's heavily biased towards our clan members, as they have someone to fill in the gaps at home. It is a real struggle for our civilian-born ninja to even survive with the way things are." Kakashi stepped back into the assembled group of Jōnin and resumed reading, to the resigned sigh of the Hokage.

The Sandaime looked meaningfully at Shikaku. "How are the fatality rates for civilian-born Shikaku?"

"Not great, significantly higher than those from the main clans. That was another problem I wanted to address with this new plan."

Sarutobi sighed. How did it get this bad? "Ok, Kurenai?" Sarutobi beckoned the only female in the room forwards.

Kurenai was a beautiful woman; there really was no other way to describe her. Long, glossy hair; full, red lips; a dress that frankly left very little to the imagination, the list went on. She was one of Hiruzen's most favoured Jōnin, though for none of those reasons. The Third Hokage favoured Kurenai Yūhi, not as a man, but as the leader of a village of shinobi. Kurenai was determined, loyal and incredibly hard-working, all traits that he respected and desired in the shinobi and kunoichi under his command, but his favourite characteristic of hers was her single-minded pursuit of her goal. She was adamant that genjutsu could be as potent a ninja art as ninjutsu or taijutsu, and should be respected and feared as such. As Konoha's Genjutsu Mistress, she had attained those qualities for her own reputation, but it was never her fame or acclaim that she sought, merely recognition for the field her small family specialised in.

"Well Hokage-sama, my worry is the genjutsu taught in the academy. There is none! There are no genjutsu in the curriculum, none in the graduation exams; the students aren't even taught how to recognise and dispel them. It is left up to the sensei once they graduate, but I really think that is leaving it too late."

The Hokage nodded kindly at Kurenai, signalling her to step back, and addressed a very familiar face, albeit one seen through a haze of smoke.

"And what of your opinion?" He asked.

A bearded, powerfully-built man in the standard Jōnin attire so commonly seen around Konoha cleared his throat.

"My issue is close-combat. Weapons, taijutsu, grapples… we just don't teach it enough. There's too much emphasis on the practical and the katas, and not nearly enough use of the techniques and tools available. The genin are coming out of the academy knowing the perfect stance for the standard kata, and then they get floored by one punch because they can't see it coming, and can't react to it even if they can. Weapons… well we need to teach them. Kunai and Shuriken are great, but they aren't perfect. They're the jack-of-all-trades of weaponry, but it's better to have at least some masters."

Asuma began to step back, but hesitated. "Kurenai is the best genjutsu user in the village, and Kakashi is the best ninjutsu barring you Hokage-sama. However, I'm not sure where I fall in this idea? I'm not the best in the village with a sword, and I'm certainly not the best taijutsu user in the village. Why exactly is it I've been selected for… whatever this is?" He asked.

"You're a capable strategist, a strong taijutsu user, weapons user, and on top of that, you can use the only element that Kakashi lacks. Other than you, the only Fūton user in the village is Danzō, and I would really rather he is kept separate from this." Sarutobi answered. "You're correct in that you are not one of the village's best specialists, but you are one of the village's strongest all-round ninja, which is equally as important."

Kakashi looked around the room curiously. Genjutsu, ninjutsu, weaponry… the only art missing is taijutsu, and if the trend of the first two at least continued, there was only one person missing from this meeting. Was Gai involved in this?

"I have asked you all here not only for the purpose of giving me counsel on this matter. The three of you are next in line to take a set of graduating students and test them to see if they could become genin. If they pass, you will be their senseis. I wish to alter that somewhat." Sarutobi stated.

Kurenai and Asuma looked somewhat dismayed, having both applied for the role of senseis, feeling it was about time they gave back to the village's future. Kakashi felt more a sense of relief, though you'd never know if it showed on his face or not.

"You will still be teachers," This announcement was met with twin smiles and a sigh, "But not in the way you expect. I wish you to go back to the academy, as senseis to a selected sample of the final year. Supplement it with what you feel is necessary. Build on their weaknesses, capitalise on their strengths. I want to see if you can take a year and give me ninja. The sample will be mostly made up of clan heirs as they require a certain heavier protection, and because they will be the most suited to the more rigorous training. Having spent two years in the academy doing very little, it would be too large a shock for the majority of the class, it really wouldn't be beneficial. There will be one or two students that are not clan heads if they have shown promise and/or dedication outside of class hours, but that's it."

At this point Kakashi felt a pit of dread pool in his stomach. He knew it. Wherever he goes, Gai follows. But how could that be the case? Gai already has a genin team; in fact, he knew that he was going to be testing them the very next day. Look underneath the underneath. What was he missing?

"Hokage-sama, how will you get Gai on board with this?" Kakashi queried. "I know he is excited about teaching his genin, and especially going on missions with them. I'm not sure how you're going to be able to sway him." Kakashi knew that Gai would be the best for taijutsu, hell; the man was doubtlessly in contention for the title of the world's greatest taijutsu user. That Gai would be able to bring the students up to scratch, and indeed far beyond, was unquestionable – though their survival would be – but the man was so far beyond exuberant most people considered him a joke. Having sparred with him countless times, Kakashi would not fall prey to that kind of thinking. Gai was the kind of ninja that you didn't dare look away from in a fight – not for cunning, or fancy techniques, but simply for the fact that a single punch from him could put a man through a concrete wall a metre thick, and it would be faster than you could blink.

"That has already been taken care of Kakashi; he will be there when you start teaching in a fortnight at the start of the new academy year." Sarutobi replied curtly. He didn't bother to question how Kakashi knew that. Kakashi had an uncanny way of knowing almost everything that was going on, even those things that he either should not know, or he really would have no way of finding out. It was just one of those things that made Kakashi a very resourceful ninja, but it did get grating at times. Hiruzen had a literal crystal ball, and he still sometimes felt like he was playing catch-up with a ninja under his own command!

"For now, here are the files on your students." Sarutobi gestured to a pile of yellow folders on his desk. "Study them; try to get some background information on each student. I want this group to be more than just comrades. With the number of clan heirs in this class, it has the potential to be the greatest graduating class Konoha has ever seen, and I want you, my most trusted shinobi, to make them the best. The aim is not to make them better than the competing villages, nor is it to make them better than their comrades. The aim is simply to make them better than they would have been, to make them better than they could have been."

The Hokage's words, but more importantly, the meaning behind the words, straightened even Kakashi's slumped back. _We need this – Don't fail me._

* * *

"Gai, I've decided to agree with your request-"

The Hokage was interrupted by the yelling and leaping Jōnin.

"Gai. Gai! GAI!" Sarutobi yelled, desperately trying to calm him down. This was ridiculous. A man could lose _years _of his life waiting for Gai to calm down.

The Hokage waited patiently for a few more minutes, before opening a concealed drawer on his desk and fingering a kunai, debating whether or not it would be worth _killing _Gai, just to shut him up – if that would stop him that is.

"There's no such thing as the flames of youth" Sarutobi whispered, smirking slightly behind his omni-present pipe when Gai froze mid-leap.

"Ah good, you're back. As I was saying I will accept your request – "Gai's leap was interrupted by a kunai whistling past his nose – "on one condition. I need you to take your new team and re-enter them for the final academy year."

Gai's ever-so-expressive face screamed confusion to the world.

"I don't understand Hokage-sama, they've graduated? If this is because of Lee's level, I can work with him beginning immediately; I was only waiting for your go-ahead. I've written up a training program for him to massively boost his strength and speed and I can…" Gai's hurried speech tailed off in the wake of the Hokage's raised palm.

"Brilliant Gai, you're already very much into the teaching aspect of this, aren't you? You're misunderstanding me. I want you to take that enthusiasm and apply it to teaching not just your team, but a selection of nine other promising students as well."

Gai's face remained unchanged. Sarutobi sighed. This may take a while.

* * *

Kakashi, Gai, Asuma and Kurenai stood in front of the students in the room. They exchanged sidelong glances. This bit was _not _going to be fun.

With a sigh, Kakashi stepped forward.

"Welcome to your final year of ninja academy."


End file.
